After the Dream
by slow as christmas
Summary: Old Narnia is gone, but life goes on. Caspian/Lucy
1. Chapter 1

Queen of Narnia, one of the great four that brought Narnia peace and led the inhabitants into the golden age, the one who had the elixir that could heal any wound, the purest of hearts, who never envied, never lied, and never ever hated anyone… sat glaring daggers into the back of the captain's door. She could pout if she wanted to, even if she was well passed the age of pouting; and not that _that_ thought hadn't crossed her mind more than once and it set her into an even deeper state of pouting. A light tapping on her door and the youngest of the four great kings and queens, crossed her arms in defense of the voice she knew would tempt her from brooding.

"Lu, don't be so cross with us would you. Caspian's right you know, you're a lady."

"He does this every time and you know it's wrong. There should be enough rooms on board a ship this large that are perfectly suitable for me." She ground her teeth in irritation at her brothers words, just like him to take Caspian's side; and mind you, she would have been livid at that fact alone, but she could never be upset with Edmund for very long.

A laugh was muffled against the door, "Oh don't be a baby and come out and have some dinner. He's been so kind to us already and you shouldn't be rude. He's absolutely worried himself into being ill because he's offended you."

"Edmund, you should know better than to put me on a guilt like that." Stomping to the door she flung it open only to find her brother and the subject of their discussion, smiling broadly and with quite satisfied looks on their faces. "You two are absolutely horrid."

"Terribly so." Said Caspian who shook his head, hair being swept sideways by the sea breeze and brown eyes grinning in such a way that proved he didn't mean the words.

"We deserve to be punished by Aslan himself."

"Hush would you Ed, I don't much like the though of bringing his wrath on us." The captain half heartedly swatted at the other man's arm.

A tanned hand ran through Edmunds black hair and he inhaled the salt air deeply, "I wonder if we'll see him anytime soon."

"I hope so." At the mention of the great lion's name, she was no longer angry but filled with a warmth that made her smile match those of the other two except, in her own Lucy way, it lit up the interior of the room behind her.

Both men stood and stared for the briefest of moments, which she was, of course, oblivious too. It wasn't until Edmund let out a sigh, his eyes softened by the site of his youngest sister lost in dreams of meeting Aslan again, that the silence between then was broken. Despite what she thought, Lucy could stop a crowd with a single smile, or a wave of her hand; and it made her siblings love her even the more for not knowing she had that power. "Well, let's not starve waiting on him. He comes and goes as he pleases." Taking her hand in his strong one, he leaned into his sister; despite being only a year older, he still felt terribly protective even though there were currently no dangers near her. She longed for Aslan in his absence; it was no secret that Lucy, more than anyone in their quiet group, ached for the lion and was always a little depressed when he'd leave. She would try to hide, but the mere mention of his name made her very core brighten and it was obvious to anyone who saw her in those times. It made Edmund see her in a fragile state, as that child that first stumbled into the icy Narnia all those years ago; and he wanted to protect her. "I can't believe you were upset with us. I thought Peter had settled the room struggle with you."

A blush appeared on the pale face of Lucy, "Yes well, I thought once on the actual boat, I could persuade you into not giving me the captain's quarters. After all, I'm not the captain." With that she cast a glance at the abnormally quiet Caspian who nodded his head at her. "I say, are you alright? I don't believe I've seen you this quiet since we first met."

"Yes, I'm quite alright. I was just thinking of Aslan." He smiled brightly, "Had it not been for him, I would not be king, nor would I have met any of you. It would sadden me to know I would have been without all of you."

"Don't be sad, dear Caspian!" Lucy bounded to him, catching him in a warm hug that showed she had forgiven him for the upset with the choice of quarters. Because, truth be told, she could never really stay mad at anyone for very long; and she wasn't mad, just pouting at being treated more special than the others. Which, in hindsight, was a rather foolish and immature thing to do, being a Queen and nearly twenty at that.


	2. Chapter 2

After a leisurely supper, and a late night spent on deck chatting and racing to prove who exactly had the best sea legs (in which Caspian won). Once everyone had gone to bed, Lucy stood near the edge of the rail, sea spraying onto her face and arms, in her hands she held a small white cloth, fingers tracing a small embroidered pattern. Caspian quietly stepped toward her and spoke very softly so not to startle her, as she was obviously deep in thought, "My Queen?" She didn't turn to him, or acknowledge he was even present, her thoughts adrift on the waves in the distance, so he spoke again, and once again received no reply.

He placed a gentle hand her shoulder and she started, turning abruptly to face him, then buried her face in his chest, "Oh Caspian!"

"L-Lucy! Whatever is the matter? If you wish, I'll have Drinian turn the ship around this instant." Wrapping protecting arms around the sobbing woman, confused and worried for her outburst.

"No. No. It's not that." After long moments, she pulled away enough to look up into shimmering brown eyes, " It's Susan. She's forgotten all about Narnia. She says that Peter's such a snot for still believing in it and for indulging us. She said this can't possibly be real because we don't change except in our time. Why can't she believe in us, in Narnia…i-in Aslan?" Her voice squeaked and cracked painfully as she buried her tear stained face in his shirt. "How can she not believe in _him?_ After all we've gone through, after all he's done for us!"

"Be calm, my Queen." His voice was soft and she soon stopped snubbing, but the tears continued to flow, "She'll believe again, eventually. I would think it would be hard to believe such things in your part of time."

"Hello, is everything alright out here?"

It was Edmund, and Lucy refused to raise her head and instead whispered, "He can't see me like this. Can't. It hurts him. Do something, Caspian!"

"Like what?" The laughter was evident in his voice and anyone could tell what he was going to say wouldn't go over well. "Hello Ed, I was just giving your lovely sister a goodnight kiss under the stars."

"Oh. Is that all? How absolutely boring."

"Edmund!" The youngest of the four great kings and queens bolted from the embrace, "How could you just walk away at that? Where's your protective brother stance?"

Her brother shrugged, a sparkle filling his eyes, "It's Caspian." With that he leaned on the railing beside her and fixed his eyes in the dark distance.

"I waited," Began Caspian."I wondered if you two would return you know." The king joined Edmund's lean against the railing and Lucy took the spot beside her brother. "I mean, after we had dropped you and Reepicheep off in the Silver Sea. It's amazing that we're all hear again."

"Didn't you hear we couldn't return?"

"Not until later when dear Eustace told me." His face scrunched up into a grimace, "I was nearly seventy, or eighty then. I didn't like being old."

"I believe we were spared that, Ed. We never really grew old, just older." Lucy leaned softly on her brothers shoulders, "All we've been through, it seems like such a dream and yet so real." She turned to Caspian, still leaning on her brothers shoulder, "Ramandu's daughter - I haven't seen her in our new Narnia."

"Ah, yes." He scratched his nose in a bit of embarrassment and a little to hide the pain behind his eyes, "The trouble with marrying a star's daughter is that they eventually become stars themselves. It's not for them to stay grounded in Narnia, England, or any other place. She'll visit again, I'm sure; but as stars do, she'll be changed." He smiled brightly, closing his eyes in the process as thought to hide any pain that would show through them, "I love her and she loves me, unfortunately, the love a star has is quite different than the love we feel. And I accept that."

"Oh Caspian, how sad." With that, Lucy flung her arms around him, holding him tightly as though the more she held onto him, the more pain she could save him from.

"It's fine now, My Lady." He assured her quietly, "I've had eons to get over all of it. It's really not as bad as one thinks. We both realize things change, especially with this new Narnia. Really, I'm alright, Lu." Pushing her away softly, he leaned against the railing again, "But you two, surely you've gone through the same thing."

Lucy shook her head, "No. I can't say that I have. I wanted to, and there were a few I liked, but … no, I could never find anyone."

It was at this Edmund sighed and leaned against the railing even deeper, his shoulders protruding through the cloth on his back, "Unfortunately, I have experienced this. Except not quite the way you did, Caspian. In England, I was to marry a rather beautiful girl. I thought it important to tell her of Narnia, since I loved her so much and she loved me just the same. But the moment I told her, the look in her eyes changed, as though telling her of Narnia was stabbing her in the heart. She kissed me and then said she couldn't marry me. We were still friends, and neither of us took another; but Narnia came between us, and Aslan is one thing I can't give up for anyone."

"Seems you were spared heartache, Lucy." Caspian smiled at her, "And it should be no different."

"No," Her face fell in a frown as pale fingers eased over the rough would of the rail, tracing the outlines with expert movements. "I was not spared heartache, but I believe I'm tired and wish to sleep now." With a quick bow, she nearly ran to the captain's chambers and left the two men on deck as puzzled as they had ever been.


End file.
